The 2017 Heatley Medal and Prize was awarded to Ian Graham from the University of York. During his career Ian has made major contributions to our understanding of plant metabolism and seed biology. Transformative research has shed new light on the production of small molecule natural products from plants such as the anti-cancer compound noscapine, morphinan-based analgesics such as codeine and morphine and the antimalarial drug artemisinin. He led the way in the genetic dissection of lipid mobilization in Arabidopsis oilseeds and most recently has discovered a role for oxylipins in controlling seed germination.

Ian presented his lecture at the 2017 Local Ambassador Day on 16 November 2017.

The 2017 Thudichum Medal was awarded to David Rubinsztein from the University of Cambridge. David pioneered the strategy of autophagy upregulation as a possible therapeutic approach in various neurodegenerative diseases and has identified drugs and novel pathways that may be exploited for this objective. He has made key contributions to illuminating the relevance of autophagy defects as a disease mechanism and to the basic cell biology of this important catabolic process. He has also identified druggable pathways independent of autophagy that may be relevant to diseases caused by aggregate-prone proteins. These insights open novel avenues for developing potential therapies.

Read David's article published in Essays in Biochemistry - Autophagy impairment in Parkinson’s disease.

David presented his medal lecture entitled ‘Autophagy and neurodegeneration’ on 28 July 2017 at Charles Darwin House, London, UK.  

The 2017 Early Career Research Award for Biotechnology was awarded to Alexander Buell (University of Düsseldorf, Germany). Alexander has made ground-breaking contributions to the application of biophysical techniques to characterize the properties of biological molecules. In particular, he has participated in seminal advances in understanding of the molecular mechanisms of aggregation of amyloid forming proteins related to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Read Alexander's review article published in the Biochemical Journal - The growth of amyloid fibrils: rates and mechanisms.

The 2017 Colworth Medal was awarded to Markus Ralser (University of Cambridge and the Francis Crick Institute) for his work revolutionising understanding of the origin of cellular metabolism during early evolution and the dynamic nature of metabolism that allows cells to adapt to stress situations. He is a leader in the exploration of the evolution of metabolic pathways, with his description of non­enzymic pathways.

Read Markus' article published in the Biochemical Journal - An appeal to magic? The discovery of a non-enzymatic metabolism and its role in the origins of life.

Markus presented his award lecture at the Society conference ‘Synthetic Biology UK 2017‘ 27 – 28 November  2017 at the Manchester Conference Centre, UK.

The 2017 Biochemical Society Award was awarded to Keith Gull from the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford. Keith has a special interest in the biochemistry of the microtubule cytoskeleton, cell motility and division. He has made a major contribution to understanding the molecular components of the microtubule cytoskeleton and how it operates in flagellar motility, cell division, and morphogenesis of the African trypanosome. His work has led to the establishment of novel insights into the evolution of the cytoskeleton and its components. He has served on numerous government, learned society and medical charity committees as well as the governing bodies and science advisory committees of many institutes in the UK and Europe. He has had a long-term interest in graduate education and the careers of young scientists. Professor Gull has organised many courses for young African scientists in sub-Saharan Africa.  

The 2017 Sir Philip Randle Lecture was awarded to Geoffrey D Holman from University of Bath. Geoffrey has made a major contribution to the field of insulin regulated glucose metabolism, principally the mechanism by which glucose enters cells in response to insulin stimulation through a regulated transporter translocation mechanism. His work has direct impact on our understanding of human insulin-resistant state and the development of Type 2 Diabetes. 

Read Geoffrey's article published in the Biochemical Journal - Chemical biology probes of mammalian GLUT structure and function. 

Geoffrey presented his award lecture at the Society conference entitled ‘Insulin and exercise signalling for glucose homeostasis and metabolic health‘ on 6-8 September 2017 at the University of Bath, UK.